A beach-lover’s paradise

The beaches of Jupiter, Florida and the surrounding area are a major draw for ocean-lovers. Forty years ago, you would have found nothing but sand dunes covered in sea grapes and Australian pines. Fortunately the sand dunes, sea grapes and pines still exist because the area has been developed with preservation of the natural beauty foremost in mind. You won’t find much commercial development along A1A in Jupiter, Juno Beach or the Treasure Coast. What you will find is some of the most beautiful accessible beaches in all of Florida with lots of free parking, restrooms, showers and picnic areas.

On the Treasure Coast you will find individual beach access to somewhat private spots as well as longer, guard-protected areas like Stuart Beach, Jensen Sea Turtle Beach on Hutchinson Island and Hobe Sound Beach.

Bathtub Reef Park is located at the south end of Hutchinson Island is a special spot for young families where small children can enjoy the surf with the protection of a reef that creates a wading pool adjacent to the beach. That same reef is an attraction for avid snorkelers. The reef is created by the tubeworms in a process that involves cementing together sand and bits of shell.

Coral Cove Park is a 15 acre beach on Jupiter Island with 600 feet of which is guarded. This beach has and extensive natural limestone reef just offshore, making it ideal for snorkeling. The same geological formations form the spectacle at Blowing Rocks Preserve where breaking waves spray plumes of water through. The spray can reach to astounding heights of 50 feet.

Another family favorite is Dubois Park located on the south side of the Jupiter Inlet. The park has more than 1,200 feet of tropical palm-lined beach, as well as playgrounds and picnic pavilions and a lagoon with a guarded area where children can safely enjoy water play.

Carlin Park is a beach park with an exercise trail and picnic areas with grills, showers, and lifeguards. South of Carlin Park all along A1A, there are many access points to the beach most with showers. A wide sidewalk spans most of the beachfront making a nice place for walking, rollerblading or biking. On windy days you can see kite-surfers dotting the shoreline of what is now referred to by locals as “Kite Beach”.

Jupiter’s neighbor to the south, Juno Beach features more of the same unspoiled, wide, sea-grape-dappled beaches. Juno Beach Park and Fishing Pier features a guarded beach. There are covered picnic areas, restrooms and showers and a 990-foot fishing pier. It’s the perfect spot to fish, surf and swim.

Further south is the barrier island, Singer Island which features some of the area’s most pristine ocean/intracoastal park. John D. MacArthur Beach State Park has two miles of oceanfront beach, boardwalk, picnic areas, nature center with guided tours and live exhibits. A little further south is another great snorkeling spot. The reef is close to shore and can be seen jutting out of the water at low tide. The water is fairly deep on the far-side of the reef for the brave who want to see larger sea creatures including sharks.

Citizens of Palm Beach County place a high priority on natural areas

For the first time in its 15 year history the Audubon Society has awarded a local government for extraordinary efforts to protect the natural areas that make Florida unique. Palm Beach County has been recognized this year for their outstanding effort to acquire and manage environmentally-sensitive and biologically-diverse lands. We can all be proud of this achievement. It all began in 1990s when voters approved 2 referendums that authorized the sale of $250 million in bonds to acquire these lands for conservation purposes. To date 31,000 acres have been preserved and are being managed by the county sometimes in partnership with state and local governments. The mission is to protect these environmentally-sensitive areas as well as provide habitat for native wildlife and endangered species.

Gopher tortoise, resident of Jupiter Ridge

As a result of this initiative, Palm Beach County has an abundance of natural areas with public use facilities, such as a small parking lot, hiking trails, and an informational kiosk. The natural areas are open from sunrise to sunset seven days a week, including holidays, for passive, natural resource-based recreation activities such as hiking, bird watching, nature study, and photography, as well as for environmental education and scientific research. Other recreation uses, such as horseback riding, bicycling, and fishing, are permitted in designated areas on a site-specific basis.

The vast majority of the land acquired through this initiative is in North Palm Beach County. The residents of Jupiter greatly benefited as the town has many undeveloped areas that meet the criteria. In addition, the town has been mindful of preserving open spaces through its Open Space Program.

There seems to be a lot of development taking place in and around Jupiter. Some fear that the town is suddenly growing and will lose its small town charm. However, according to Stephanie Thoburn, assistant director of planning and zoning in Jupiter, much of the construction currently taking place in Jupiter has been in the planning stage for quite a few years. Some had been put on hold because of the recession. Now that the economy is in recovery, and growth has resumed, the town is having a mini-building boom. And because Jupiter is at 90 percent buildout much of the of the permitting is for redevelopment of existing commercial properties. It is primarily planned revitalization.

The most ambitious project, Harbourside Place at Riverwalk, has been designated Jupiter’s town center and will give the Town a sense of identity. As the focal point of the Town’s 2.5 mile Riverwalk project, the Harbourside Place will provide the community and its citizens a place to work, shop, socialize, dine and enjoy the Intracoastal Waterway with its public boat slips, over 1,000 foot Riverwalk promenade with benches and decorative lighting.

The Wyndham Grand Jupiter anchors Harbourside on the south and offers 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space including a 5,000 sq. ft. ballroom with breathtaking views from the Mangrove Deck. Ideal for weddings and special events. The 4-star hotel has 170 guest rooms and is accepting reservations for stays beginning Oct. 15. Grand opening rates, valid for travel Oct. 15 through 31, are priced from $179 per room, per night.

Harbourside is scheduled to open in Fall of 2014.

Fresh Market opened in May

Some other projects Jupiter include:

Walmart, located just is spending about $12 million to add a grocery store and boost the 128,000-square-foot building. Store is open while under construction.

Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas, the renovation of the former Paragon Jupiter Cinema on U.S. 1 on Indiantown Road across from Harbourside, plans to open in November.

The Fresh Market opened in May in Fisherman’s Wharf shopping center on the north side of Indiantown Road, between Alternate A1A and the Intracoastal Waterway.

A new Chipotle restaurant opened last month in the Chasewood Plaza on the southeast corner of Indiantown Road and Central Blvd.

A Hurricane Grill & Wings restaurant plans to open in the same plaza.

Lakewood, a 275-unit residential development on 260 vacant acres on the northwest corner of Indiantown Road and Florida’s Turnpike, was approved by the Jupiter town council in July. Plans for the gated community call for a 5,000-square-foot restaurant, 150,000 square feet of biotech and a 15,000-square-foot pharmacy. Construction is expected to begin early next year.

Mangrove Bay, a 104 unit multifamily building located at the intersection of Sea Breeze Circle and U.S. Highway One, is under construction.

Construction is expected to begin by early next year for the Boyd Medical two-story building on the northwest corner of Indiantown Road and North Hepburn Avenue. The current 5,000-square-foot office building will be demolished and replaced by the new 8,400-square foot building on the half-acre parcel.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre at the northwest corner of Indiantown Road and A1A is completing about $2.5 million in renovations to add seating and upgrade the former Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre.

Barcelona s a 351 unit residential apartments and future commercial development is currently under construction at Military Trail across from the Post Office.

Bluffs Marina’s site plan has been amended to expand the marina by adding new yacht slips, increasing the size of the new dock master building, adding new private tender slips, accessory boatlifts, pilings and additional parking spaces, located on a 14.6± acre property at 1320 Tidal Pointe Boulevard.

Abacoa Town Center Phase IV A mixed use project consisting of 287 multifamily units with 17 commercial loft units (which may be used as residential until demand is achieved for the commercial) located east of Parkside Drive and south of Cades Bay Avenue is under construction.

Villa Diamante is 20-unit residential duplex development on will be built on 216 Old Jupiter Beach Rd.

Fantastic restaurants are plentiful in Jupiter and the surrounding area. One the greatest benefits to living in Jupiter is the many choices we have when it comes to waterfront dining. All along the beaches, rivers, and Intracoastal Waterway of the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast are waterfront restaurants with outstanding views. Lighthouses, islands, ocean wildlife, and marinas are just few of the sights you can see while enjoying dinner at these waterfront restaurants. There some that have docks for those arriving by boat and many have live entertainment. Check out Down by the Water published by Jupiter Magazine for a comprehensive list of waterfront restaurants.